September 1, 2010 -- So there I was at the Portland, OR, airport having arrived in time no matter that my friend Steve had taken a wrong turn and at night it was a bitch getting our bearings. Thanks to the Internet, I'd checked in early, had the treasured boarding pass, and pre-paid one bag of luggage at a massive $2 savings. Checking in with Delta was a breeze and it took less than ten minutes getting past security. Scheduled to depart at 11PM, the plane "pushed
off" as they say, at 11:35PM.
Learning from the previous trip to pick seats close to the door, I also knew to grab an aisle seat first, a window seat second, and nobody wants the center. Packed like sardines, up since 4AM that morning, I somehow managed to get a couple hours sleep.
The last trip to Florida, then to Missouri, back to Florida and then home over a 12-day period, I didn't get homesick. This time, I'm so homesick. I miss my dog. I am disillusioned by the way Linda lives. She calls it "humble", I call it squalor. I want her out of it. I don't want her driving around in a car with a near flat tire. I'd hoped she see the danger of driving that way, but no, she was planning to keep driving Wednesday until after her medical appointments. It was only when I'd impressed on her the danger that
she decided to at least put some air in the tire until she could get it repaired.
On Friday Linda's car battery died. Oh, she expected it. The car in for a safety inspection weeks earlier, she was told the battery needed replacing. I'm guessing that when you're struggling financially, when you're picking up some of the living expenses for your live-at-home 30-year-old son, you can't be buying new car batteries at the drop of a hat. You wait until something goes wrong before worrying about how to fix it.
Thinking about car batteries, have you ever noticed that many electronic gadgets warn when the battery is low? Mice and keyboard and cameras, all warn you. So why don't cars do this? Granted, some of the more expensive cars do, but surely a warning system should have been used in vehicles long ago. Or it could be a conspiracy to suck money out of us. When we're stranded with a dead battery we'll pay almost anything for a new one.
The strangest part of this trip was not having Linda take me to the airport. The plane set to depart at 4:30p, Linda had to be at the hospital at 2:00p for surgery. Depending on how she felt afterwards there was a good chance I wouldn't know how she fared until the next day. How I'd get to the airport fell into the hands of Linda's son, who I'd already become concerned because he seemed to think that Linda would be able to drive herself home from the hospital.
Unless she likes to jerk my chain, Linda seemed to think the same thing too. My recollection of having day surgery is that it may have been possible to drive a short distance, but why should anyone with an able bodied son available?
Monday morning, a few hours before the surgery, Linda launched her replay of the events. The what-ifs made my stomach churn until walking away I told her, "Just let me know when you're home in one piece." It must have been fear of the unknown. All I knew was that I was tired of hearing her dissect what she thought is/was wrong/not wrong with her and that she couldn't imagine her body letting her down. Let me tell you about bodies in decline, I wanted to say.
Lastly, I wanted to comment on what it's like flying Delta. There weren't any flight attendant meltdowns, the employees I encountered were nice and helpful, but I wish they would stop hyping their Skyway Club. Near as I can figure, those who buy into this get special treatment. Are you ready for it?
As a member of the club you get to board the plane before the peasants. This means nothing except that you'll be sitting on your ass watching the peasants board. You also get to walk to the boarding gate on the left side of a roped off area the only difference being a rug on the left side with the words 'VIP' or something of no meaning either. Then Delta has "zones" which mean nothing either except those in zone 2 board before zone 4 and yet all sit in coach.
Even when you're in "First Class" you are in coach on the AirBus 330's and DC9's Delta flies. In addition to paying much more for first class, you get to sit in the first five or so rows in slightly wider and thicker seats. What distinguishes first class from coach is a see-through mesh curtain which is sometimes pulled during flight. And why do they call the inside of a plane the "cabin"? It's nothing like the cabin I recall as a kid. Call it what it is: the tube. Why also, the dressing? Like when the plane "pushes off"
from the gate. Boats push off, planes taxi. So why not say the plane is leaving the gate?
Please visit this merchant
Brent's morning coffee courtesy of
Speeder & Earl's,
Burlington, VT.
